In WWII, The 8th USAAF solved the problem of assembling multiple bomber groups for formation under radio silence by using war weary B-24s and sometimes B-17s either garishly painted, or lit as flying assembly points. The reason for the assembly ships was to give USAAF bombers a visual aid to form up after takeoff before heading out on their missions.
Nice Chris. I've got the Assembly Ships of the Mighty Eighth book. When I blow though my 1/48 stash(150yrs. from now) I'm going to go to 1/72 and build as many of these as I can.
In addition to assembly ships, there were also experiments in camouflage. These were mostly used on fighter aircraft. Some of the designs were called 'razzle-dazzle'.